News from UMass Lowell for Week of Nov. 12, 2013

Story and Source Ideas for Journalists

11/12/2013

This is a notice of upcoming events, photo opportunities and story ideas at UMass Lowell, compiled by the Office of University Relations, 978-934-3224. For more stories about UMass Lowell, visit www.uml.edu and click on “Media” at the top of the page. Please note that contact names below are for the media and are not for publication.

Sources of the week are available to discuss:

The Obamacare rollout;

How to handle stressful situations at Thanksgiving gatherings;

How to stick to your diet and exercise routine during the holidays.

Contact UMass Lowell media relations if you need an expert source on any subject.

What: Author Joseph Conforti will discuss his book, “Another City Upon a Hill: A New England Memoir” at an event presented by the Saab-Pedroso Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture at UMass Lowell and the university’s Center for Arts and Ideas. The book is both a personal reflection on Conforti’s family – three generations of Italian- and Portuguese-Americans making their way in New Bedford – and the story of the city itself, once the cotton capital of America. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations, which are required, may be made by e-mailing artsandideas@uml.edu.

What: Economist and author James Boyce will present “Cooling the Planet, Clearing the Air,” an examination of climate policy, pollutants and carbon pricing. Much of Boyce’s work centers on developing strategies to lessen poverty and increase environmental protection. He is president of Econ4, which aims to improve the economics profession and the public’s understanding of how the economy works and should work. The event is one in UMass Lowell’s Fall 2013 Seminar Series, which is presented by the College of Health Sciences; College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; the Economic and Social Development of Regions program; and the Center for Industrial Competitiveness.

What: High-school juniors and seniors from across the state who are interested in science careers will learn about how researchers and engineers create new medicines, improve food production, combat climate change and more during the Biotech Futures Conference. UMass Lowell laboratory sessions and demonstrations will introduce participants to the university’s cutting-edge work in fields such as polymer sciences, microscopy, bioinformatics, nanomanufacturing and assistive technology. Students will also tour UMass Lowell’s Center for Baseball Research, where they will learn about the physics and engineering behind the game. The conference is presented by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation.

What: Representatives of organizations throughout the region – from the U.S. Army to Habitat for Humanity – will ask UMass Lowell students to help devise solutions to problems they face in their work during the first DifferenceMakers Reverse Pitch Contest. Students will be encouraged to take on these projects as part of the 2014 DifferenceMakers Challenge, a contest that hones students’ innovative-thinking, team-building and entrepreneurial skills and awards cash prizes to the participants who develop the best new big ideas.

What: The public, along with researchers and developers, will see how robots are being developed with the help of the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) Center at UMass Lowell, the country’s most advanced robotics testing facility. The open house will showcase the center’s many state-of-the-art obstacle courses that challenge robots’ capabilities and durability. Robots from VGo Communications, Adept MobileRobots, Aldebaran Robotics, KTS Associates and the UMass Lowell Robotics Lab will be demonstrated. Robotics professionals and students of the field may bring their robots to see how the center can contribute to their work. While admission is free, reservations are required and may be made at http://nerveopenhouse2013.eventbrite.com/. Those who wish to bring a robot to demonstrate should contact NERVE Center Manager Adam Norton at anorton@cs.uml.edu.

What: The Massachusetts premiere of “Unacceptable Levels,” a documentary about society’s exposure to toxic chemicals, will be followed by a panel discussion with experts from UMass Lowell who appear in the film, along with representatives of Beyond Benign and Massachusetts Clean Water Action. The movie examines the ramifications of the chemical revolution of the 1940s through the eyes of filmmaker and father Ed Brown. For the documentary, he interviewed environmental advocates, lawyers and scientists, including UMass Lowell Associate Prof. Joel Tickner, program director of the Department of Community Health and Sustainability, and Richard Clapp, a faculty member in the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at UMass Lowell. The screening is free and open to the public; reservations are required by contacting Malinda_Buchannan@uml.edu. The event is presented by UMass Lowell’s College of Health Sciences and the Environmental Health Program.

What: The University Orchestra, under the direction of UMass Lowell music faculty member Mark Latham, will present a free concert to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy. The program, which is open to the public, will honor JFK’s legacy with works that reflect his life and death, including “Symphony No. 1” by Beethoven, the funeral march from Brahms’ “Requiem,” which will be performed with the University Choirs, and Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait.” Written in homage to Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency, the Copland piece will include spoken text from the “Gettysburg Address” that will be narrated by special guest state Sen. Eileen Donoghue of Lowell. The selection will evoke the many parallels between the Lincoln and Kennedy administrations.